On the 24th, the World Anti-Imperialist Platform organized a strong protest rally and campaign in The Hague, Netherlands, opposing NATO summit.
That day, the NATO summit with leaders from 32 member countries began in The Hague. The summit venue, the World Forum Convention Center, was heavily secured with fences erected around the area, and all roads within a 70-meter radius were completely closed. Approximately 27,000 police officers—about half of the entire Dutch police force—were mobilized for the NATO summit security operation.
Amid tight security, the chant “Disband NATO!” resounded powerfully throughout the downtown of The Hague. Protesters unfolded a large banner reading “DISBAND NATO” and held up signs with slogans such as “STOP ISRAEL’S ATTACK ON IRAN!”
Amid growing attention from the press and the people of The Hague, the rally officially began. Participants repeatedly chanted “Disband NATO!” as they raised the energy of the people.
Aleksandar Đenić, Executive Secretary of the New Communist Party of Yugoslavia, declared, “We did not want to sell our country, we did not want to sell our natural resources, and we did not want to destroy our financial system. That is exactly why they attacked us. We can find countless examples before and after the bombing of Yugoslavia. They bombed Libya, they bombed Iraq, they bombed Afghanistan. They sought to destroy sovereign nations.”
He continued, “Today, we can see that NATO is leading a war against Russia in Ukraine. They stand with Israel and wage war against the Palestinian people. In the past, they led the war against Iraq as well. They seek to destroy every nation that dares to resist colonialism—every nation that dares to stand with the people.” “All progressive forces must unite and fight together on a single front against NATO and Western imperialism. Our message must be clear.”
After chanting the slogan “NATO troops, go home!”, next speech continued.
Kommunistische Organisation (Germany) stated, “The reason we have gathered here today is because NATO warmongers are planning wars against the peoples of the world. They are preparing for war against Iran, Russia, and China.” “Since Russia began its military operation in Ukraine, imperialism has been challenged both politically and militarily. Russia’s courageous action has created a turning point toward international liberation struggles and the end of US hegemony. The people of the Sahel region have decided to liberate themselves from French domination and are advancing on a path of independent and sovereign development. On October 7, 2023, the heroic resistance of Palestine broke out of the ‘open-air prison,’ showing the world that the people of Gaza are alive and that Palestinian liberation is not just an abstract ideal but a realistically achievable goal.”
He added, “The power of all these resistances is fundamentally shaking the landscape of international class struggle. Imperialism is in a deep crisis, with no way out other than genocide and destruction. Just a few days ago, the Zionist state of Israel illegally attacked Iran in violation of international law. The United States bombed Iranian civilian infrastructure with bunker buster bombs. Preparations for war against China are also fully underway. The danger of a third world war is no longer an abstract possibility — it is a clear and concrete threat. Even those gathered at today’s NATO summit in The Hague to discuss war plans are fully aware of this.”
Finally, he chanted the slogans, “Disband NATO!”, “For the liberation of Palestine and all the oppressed peoples of the world!”, “Long live proletarian internationalism!
Joti Brar, representative of the Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist-Leninist), said that “right beneath the very road where we now stand, war planners are desperately scheming to maintain their grip on global dominance.” She added “they are likely discussing how to save their proxy, Israel. Israel had long served as a guarantee for their looting of Middle Eastern oil, but now that regime is on the brink of collapse—at a stage that seems beyond recovery. This is because the long-accumulating tides of resistance in the Middle East have finally reached a decisive moment.
She continued, “They always insist to us that they are omnipotent, but in reality, the power of resistance proves the opposite. In Yemen, Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran, the tides of resistance against US, British, and French imperialism have been immense.” “They have spent a long time trying to isolate, divide, and eliminate anti-imperialist states one by one. They achieved temporary success in Syria, and that gave them confidence in this strategy. They tried to repeat it when attacking Russia. But they failed—and the consequences have come back to them.”
She went on to say, “Our strength lies in unity. Our legacy is solidarity. The true cause we must stand for is to stand with the victims of imperialist aggression. We must fight for the victory of Iran, the victory of Russia, and the victory of China. This is our common struggle. We must organize a mass movement of civil disobedience against the NATO war machine.”
Edmundo Albornoz of the Communist Party of Ecuador stated, “The United States is threatening to withdraw from its alliances, and Europe is now torn between following Washington or forging its own path. Within the G7 and NATO, there is no longer unity, but rather division, distrust, and competition. These growing cracks are no accident—they reflect a collapsing system and are evidence of a global order that can no longer be sustained by weapons or empty rhetoric.”
He continued, “As imperialism declines, our peoples are rising. Across Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Africa, we are seeing the emergence of nationalism, popular movements, and revolutionary forces. Some of these forces are still in a state of confusion, while others have already made clear decisions. But all of them, in their own ways, are responding to the same truth: the age of unipolar domination is coming to an end.”
“Now more than ever, it is time for us to raise high the banner of sovereignty and social justice. Now is the time to fight for the global construction of an anti-imperialist front. Long live anti-imperialist unity! Long live the struggle for a multipolar, just, and free world!”
After closing the first rally with a rendition of The Internationale, anti-NATO agitation and propaganda continued.
A newspaper was produced and distributed containing the World Anti-Imperialist Platform’s statement from The Hague World Anti-Imperialist Joint Struggle on June 21, as well as The Hague–Amsterdam Declaration adopted during the 8th Anti-Imperialist International Conference held on June 22nd.
During the continued protests, Vukašin Žunić, a Central Committee member of the League of Communist Youth of Yugoslavia (SKOJ), declared, “Our goal is to unite anti-imperialist forces and continue the struggle so that war crimes are not repeated. Let us continue to fight in order not to repeat the histories of Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, and Iraq.”
The Workers’ Party of Ireland emphasized, “In The Hague, and all over the world, the imperialists are hard at work. They are spreading propaganda through the media and generating conflicts across the globe. But if the working class in every country unites, we can fight NATO, we can fight war, and we can fight imperialism.”
